Mitochondrial DNA diversity was analysed in 19 Iberian and six foreign sheep breeds. Three mtDNA lineages (B, A and C) were found in the Iberian sheep, with type B clearly predominating over the others. The results were analysed for each of the morphologically determined breed groups in Iberian sheep: Merino, Entrefino, Churro and Iberian trunks. MtDNA lineage C was found only in the Iberian trunk composed of Montesina and Ojalada. These two populations had high mtDNA variability, and in the Iberian sheep only Merino Branco had more variation. The other three Merino types studied showed moderate variability, including the most authentic Merino, the Spanish Merino. These three Merinos clustered closely in a multidimensional scaling representation of distances, while the fourth breed (Merino Branco) showed a clear separation. As for the other two trunks, breeds from the Churro group showed greater maternal uniformity while results for populations included in the so-called Entrefino trunk seemed to have a more heterogeneous maternal origin. The results obtained are discussed with available data from nuclear markers and with morphological classifications, and all this information is analysed in relation to the origin of the different Iberian sheep breeds.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2739436 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-39-1-91 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Soil-Plant Characterization in Agrosilvopastoral System Established in a Fe-Mn Abandoned Mine After Long-Term Closure.
Plants (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes S/N, 41080 Seville, Spain.
Small abandoned mining areas of Fe and Mn oxides located in the Portuguese sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW of Europe) have been converted into agrosilvopastoral systems with very few environmental management measures after their closure. Although at the landscape scale, no visible differences were observed between the former mining intervention areas and adjacent areas, it is essential to assess the state and environmental risk of the soil-plant system, especially in the herbaceous pastures grazed by domestic animals. This was carried out in the Ferragudo mining area, where an agrosilvopastoral system, composed of holm oak and dryland pasture, had been established after the closure of the mine at ≈45 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAncient DNA Reveals the Earliest Evidence of Sheep Flocks During the Late Fourth and Third Millennia BC in Southern Iberia.
Animals (Basel)
December 2024
MERAGEM (AGR-158) Research Group, Department of Genetics, University of Córdoba, CN IV KM 396, 14014 Cordoba, Spain.
The Spanish Merino is the most significant sheep breed globally due to its economic and cultural importance in human history. It has also had a substantial influence on the development of other Merino and Merino-derived breeds. Historical sources indicate that crossbreeding to produce finer, higher-quality wool was already taking place in the south of the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman era.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeyond the herd: investigating livestock feeding strategies in the Iron Age Iberian Peninsula (3rd c. BC) through a multi-isotope analysis.
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
December 2024
Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC-CERCA), Tarragona, ES Spain.
Unlabelled: During the Iron Age, north-eastern Iberian communities relied on crop cultivation and animal husbandry for their subsistence. The latter was mainly focused on caprine, with sheep being prominent due to their suitability to the Mediterranean climate, orography, and environment. Despite the pivotal role of sheep in livestock husbandry, information on Iberian communities' feeding strategies for this species is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeroepidemiology of in Domestic and Wild Ruminant Species in Southern Spain.
Animals (Basel)
October 2024
Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Zoonosis (GISAZ), Departamento de Sanidad Animal, UIC Zoonosis y Enfermedades Emergentes ENZOEM, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
The European Food Safety Authority has recently listed Q fever as a priority for setting up a coordinated surveillance system. Although Spain is the country with the highest human incidence of the disease in the European Union, updated data on in ruminants are still limited. A total of 780 serum samples from small ruminants and 605 sera from wild ruminants were collected in the Mediterranean ecosystems of southern Spain during the period 2015-2023.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWildlife-Livestock Host Community Maintains Simultaneous Epidemiologic Cycles of in a Mountain Ecosystem.
Vet Sci
May 2024
Parque Nacional y Parque Natural de Sierra Nevada and Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H), Pinos Genil, E-18191 Granada, Spain.
Infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) is an eye disease caused by that affects domestic and wild caprines, including Iberian ibex (), a medium-sized mountain ungulate. However, its role in IKC dynamics in multi-host communities has been poorly studied. This study assessed in Iberian ibex and seasonally sympatric domestic small ruminants in the Natural Space of Sierra Nevada (NSSN), a mountain habitat in southern Spain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!